The EPS faction of the AIADMK has already told Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that Ravindranath Kumar was not a member of the party.
Published Jul 06, 2023 | 6:12 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 06, 2023 | 6:12 PM
Kumar won the Theni Lok Sabha constituency in 2019 with a margin of 76,693 votes by defeating congress candidate EVKS Elangovan. Kumar
The Madras High Court on Thursday, 6 June, declared the election win of O P Ravindranath Kumar from the Theni Lok Sabha constituency in 2019 null and void. He had contested on an AIADMK ticket.
Ravindranath Kumar, son of the AIADMK rebel leader and former Tamil Nadu chief minister O Paneerselvam and was the only MP of the AIADMK in the Lok Sabha.
Kumar won the Theni Lok Sabha constituency by a margin of 76,693 votes, defeating the Congress candidate EVKS Elangovan. Kumar secured 5,04,813 votes and emerged as the sole winner for the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
P Milany, a voter and resident of the Theni constituency, filed a petition challenging the victory of Kumar and stated that the politician suppressed his sources of income in the election affidavit submitted while filing his nomination papers, and also bribed voters during the election.
The petitioner submitted that the MP suppressed his shareholding in a private firm, Vani Fabrics Limited, in his affidavit, and his brother was distributing sarees to the voter in Thendral Nagar in Theni.
Kumar, through his counsel, denied all the allegations levelled against him and submitted that the petition was filed out of political vendetta. He also submitted that he had not concealed any information in the nomination papers.
During the trial, Ravindhranath and officials from the Election Commission of India (ECI) appeared before the court and gave testimony before Justice SS Sundar.
Recording the testimony and arguments laid, Justice Sundar reserved the orders in April this year.
On Thursday, the judge pronounced the verdict, declaring the winning of Ravindranath null and void.
Kumar’s counsel requested the court to not give effect to the verdict for a period of 30 days so that they could approach the Supreme Court. Accepting this, Justice Sundar held his verdict for the next 30 days.
In May 2023, former minister CV Shanmugam, on behalf of AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, submitted a representation to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla stating that Ravindranath Kumar was no longer a member of the AIADMK.
Hence, he should not be considered as one representing the party in Parliament, said Shanmugam.
On 11 July, 2022, Palaniswami expelled his rival Panneerselvam and his son Ravindranath — among others — in a general council meeting held in Chennai.
